The Norwegian Working Environment Authority issued orders to Greenland Airports after a visit to Nuuk

The Greenland Working Environment Authority has visited Nuuk Airport's security function, and the result was an order to Greenland Airports International, which manages the new Atlantic airports.

The inspectors arrived at the airport on October 22 last year and spoke with three people in senior positions at the airport, including the head of security. There was no contact with employees, according to the visit report.

During the visit, it turned out that none of the three managers could explain whether security personnel were covered by the on-site occupational health and safety organization. The Danish Working Environment Authority then concluded that they probably were not.

A working environment organization (AMO) is an organized collaboration on working environment, where both employer and employees are represented. It is a requirement for companies with at least 10 employees.

The Danish Working Environment Authority therefore sent an order to Greenland Airports International to put things in order so that security employees were covered by AMO.

By accident, shortly after the inspection, the Danish Working Environment Authority informed Sermitsiaq that the visit had not yet been completed. This is why this news was somewhat delayed.

A process that was underway

Greenland Airports informs Sermitsiaq that the problem was subsequently resolved.

– We have a fine and well-functioning work environment organization in Greenland Airports. The security function in Nuuk is new and therefore had not yet had its own representative in the organization. It was a process that was underway, but not implemented at the time of the visit, which it has been since, writes communications manager Mikkel Bjarnø Lund.

The background for the Working Environment Authority's visit to Nuuk Airport was a request from the Danish Transport Authority, which supervises the airport. The Authority's officials had noticed security employees working very long shifts, sometimes for several days in a row.

However, it is not clear from the visit report from the Danish Working Environment Authority how much that theme was discussed during the inspection in October.

Security staffing has been one of the biggest problems for the new Nuuk Airport. In September, the Danish Transport Authority suspended a number of employees, and help was brought in from Copenhagen and Billund Airport. It has not been possible to confirm whether the employees called in will still be working in Nuuk in the new year.